One Possible Reason for the Gender Pay Gap: The Way Women Make Friends

Women are more likely to make friends with other women at work, and those friendships are likely to be part of more tightly knit networks than those made by men, according to a new study.

The research found that women are more likely to become friends with friends of friends, creating closely connected workplace groups. Men, by contrast, tend to form more selective, one-to-one friendships, particularly with colleagues they see as potentially helpful to their goals.

These differences could have consequences beyond employees’ social lives — including for their careers. While women’s close-knit networks can provide support and stability in the workplace, they may offer less access to wider networks, resources and influence. Men’s more targeted friendships, meanwhile, could be more likely to provide career advantages.

“Our research shows that female friendships are often contributing to the stability of an organization, whereas men's friendships are more focused on their own benefits,” said Andrew Parker, a professor of leadership at Durham University Business School and one of the co-authors of the study.

The researchers tracked almost 150 employees during their first 10 months at an organization, asking them about their friendships at four points during the period.

They concluded that these differences in how men and women form workplace friendships could contribute to the gender pay gap, and suggested employers create more opportunities for workers to build relationships across their organizations.

The study, conducted by researchers at Durham University Business School, William & Mary and Università della Svizzera Italiana, was published in “Social Networks.”